Now this was a bit scary and creepy and unsettling, which I'd forgotten. I finally got around to watching the film recently and enjoyed it a lot, and it's a good example of a film that changes aspects of the book to take advantage of the medium - stop-motion animation - that add to rather than detract from the source material. Still the book is better, because it's hard to beat Gaiman's prose, with its cool, sinister economy and rich characterisation and evocation of a deliciously skewed variations of reality.

Coraline Jones discovers a doorway to a neighbouring world that's a lot like her home, filled with people that are a lot like her family and neighbours, but which isn't or aren't. Her other mother and her other father might seem like they want to bring her joy and happiness and interesting things, but there's something off and wrong about everything. Unfortunately now that she's passed through the door, her other mother isn't going to go away. She loves Coraline and wants to make her happy, no matter what.

Spooky and creepy but also lovely and lively and oh-so-readable. It may seem more subdued than the elaborate pyrotechnic visuals of the film, but this pulls you in and takes you along with the mounting suspense and atmosphere of foreboding. And the rats' song remains one of the creepiest things ever.